This week’s AquaNerd Picture of the Week showcases one of our favorite aquarium inhabitants, Tridacna clams. These clams are available to the aquarium hobby in six different species of varying availability, though only a few dominate what we normally see on a day-to-day basis. Oceans Reefs & Aquariums, otherwise known as ORA, cranks out several aquacultured species, including T. maxima, T. squamosa, and T. derasa regularly, and we can see a few cultured ORA maxima clams mixed with a few small T. crocea clams. The clams come in a variety of colors, and this image actually doesn’t show them in their best light, as the clams look far more stunning when view from the top down. In fact, the small maxima clam in the center of the image is actually gold in color, though it looks like a muted gray here.
